In July of this year, a student newspaper was established in the Soviet Union. This publication will go forth on the university campuses as a voice to the youth of our generation; it will be a bright and shining light in a dark place. Exactly one day after the coup, this newspaper was printed in Moscow. We thank God for His miraculous timing!

Choosing a Name

The name Forerunner translates several different ways in the Russian language. We wanted our subscribers and supporters in the United States to immediately identify this newspaper as the Russian language Forerunner, so initially the name Predtecha was chosen. Predtecha means literally, “one who runs before.” However, we discovered that this is an archaic name associated with Russia’s past. The word Predtecha appears in the Russian Bible, but it is not generally used or understood.

So another name – Predvestnik – was chosen. Predvestnik means literally “Foreteller.” It has the same meaning as a “herald,” or a “prophet.” This is the meaning we want to convey. This newspaper will go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah to preach the gospel in all the Soviet Union.

The Need

There is an unprecedented opportunity in the Soviet Union today to saturate this society with Christian literature. The average Soviet citizen has been raised in total atheism – in a world where the name of Jesus Christ was rarely mentioned. To counter this famine for the Word of God, New Testaments and Bibles in the Russian language are being delivered by the ton to the existing churches and ministries. Speaking with Christian students, I discovered that most Christians in the Soviet Union now have Bibles. There is now an even greater need for other types of Christian literature.

This is where Predvestnik comes in. I will be a “new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges.” It will openly challenge the principles of Marxist-Leninism, while presenting a fresh, exciting gospel message to the youth. There are now no nationally distributed Christian youth newspapers of this type in the Soviet Union. From time to time, local editions of Christian newspapers will spring up in the western cities, but many perish due to a lack of financial support, equipment, trained staff and supplies.

Due to this lack, the potential for Predvestnik is very great. There is a great demand for Christian literature caused by a virtual spiritual desert. The vision for Predvestnik is to be a vast lake full of God’s Word at the center of this desert.

There is in reality an almost unlimited demand for Christian literature in the Soviet Union. Our first printing, 100,000 copies, is only a drop in the bucket compared to the vastness of what God desires to supply. With an exchange rate of above 30 rubles to the dollar, we were able to supply the formation of this newspaper at a low cost. For example, $2000 was able to cover all the expenses for myself and a staff of four people living and travelling in the Soviet Union for one month as well as printing 100,000 copies of the first edition.

Now is the best time for the beginning of such a publication. We are beginning this great work with virtually perfect timing. We have the opportunity to become the first nationally distributed Christian publication of this type in the Soviet Union.

Financial Support

This project is being funded by friends and subscribers of The Forerunner. We wish to thank every person who has contributed thus far. The support of this newspaper is one of the most fruitful investments in missionary work that you can make. Consider that the average salary in the Soviet Union is 260 rubles per month. At the current exchange rate (30 rubles to the dollar), a gift of 100 dollars could pay for the support of one staff member for an entire year!

We hired several Christian journalists, photographers and artists in Kiev as full time staff. Each comes with a recommendation from a pastor of a thriving church in Kiev. Alexey Salapatov, the managing editor, is a computer science student at an institute in Kiev most of the year. He and Roman Medvid, another computer programmer, are currently responsible for the editorial work of Predvestnik. They will continue to provide oversight and leadership of the newspaper and later in the year staff members will be added.

An apartment in Kiev will be leased as the main office for Predvestnik. We also want to provide a photocopier and a $2000 professional quality post-script laser printer (currently we have an ink jet printer) and provide supplies which are impossible to obtain in the Soviet Union.

There are many road blocks when working within the socialist system. The recent upheaval in the Soviet government is one such hindrance. Therefore, all of these plans are tentative and subject to change. However, in the formative stages of this newspaper, God has moved miraculously to remove many roadblocks. The providence of God has been evident from the very beginning and I believe that He will continue to provide the finances necessary to complete foundation laying of this newspaper. I believe that the current obstacles will be taken out of the way.

We are building for the long term, but there is a sense of urgency to act now to make this publication solid and capable of supporting itself if the need arises.

Would you consider supporting this project at this time? Now is the time for the harvest in the Soviet Union! Your financial giving is greatly needed and appreciated.

The Four Keys to the Millennium (Book)

All Christians believe that their great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will one day return. Although we cannot know the exact time of His return, what exactly did Jesus mean when he spoke of the signs of His coming (Mat. 24)? How are we to interpret the prophecies in Isaiah regarding the time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:19)? Should we expect a time of great tribulation and apostasy or revival and reformation before the Lord returns? Is the devil bound now, and are the saints reigning with Christ? Did you know that there are four hermeneutical approaches to the book of Daniel and Revelation?

These and many more questions are dealt with by four authors as they present the four views on the millennium. Each view is then critiqued by the other three authors.

Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism (DVD)

Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology?

This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer - How Should We Then Live? (DVD)

Special Two-Disc Set!

After 40 years of intense study and world-wide ministry, Dr. Francis Schaeffer completed his crowning work of scholarship – to present profound truths in simple film language. Dr. Schaeffer’s brilliant analysis of the past and predictions for current trends have proven so uncannily accurate that this amazing series still feels contemporary almost three decades after its initial release. Ultimately, Schaeffer concludes that man’s only hope is a return to God’s Biblical absolute, the truth revealed in Christ through the Scriptures.

Available for the first time on DVD, this documentary spectacular also includes intimate in-depth conversations with Francis and Edith Schaeffer. With the on-disc study guide, this presentation forms a unique course of comprehensive study. While this series forms an innovative analysis of the past, this outstanding work is more than history. Each episode focuses on a significant era, yet speaks clearly to 21st-century man with answers for modern problems.

The Abortion Matrix: Defeating Child Sacrifice and the Culture of Death (DVD)

Is there a connection between pagan religion and the abortion industry?

This powerful presentation traces the biblical roots of child sacrifice and then delves into the social, political and cultural fall-out that this sin against God and crime against humanity has produced in our beleaguered society.

Conceived as a sequel and update to the 1988 classic, The Massacre of Innocence, the new title, The Abortion Matrix, is entirely fitting. It not only references abortion’s specific target – the sacred matrix where human beings are formed in the womb in the very image of God, but it also implies the existence of a conspiracy, a matrix of seemingly disparate forces that are driving this holocaust.

The occult activity surrounding the abortion industry is exposed with numerous examples. But are these just aberrations, bizarre yet anomalous examples of abortionists who just happen to have ties to modern day witchcraft? Or is this representative of something deeper, more sinister and even endemic to the entire abortion movement?

As the allusion to the film of over a decade ago suggests, the viewer may learn that things are not always as they appear to be. The Abortion Matrix reveals the reality of child-killing and strikes the proper moral chord to move hearts to fulfill the biblical responsibility to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 24:11,12; 31:8,9).

The Real Jesus: A Defense of the Historicity and Divinity of Christ (DVD)

Who is the Real Jesus?

Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the “historical Jesus” — a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin.

Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regrettably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.

The Real Jesus explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views. Presented in ten parts — perfect for individual, family and classroom study — viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history — “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus.

The Abortion Matrix:
Defeating Child Sacrifice and the Culture of Death is a 195-minute presentation that traces the biblical roots of child sacrifice and then delves into the social, political and cultural fall-out that this sin against God has produced. You can order this series on DVD, read the complete script and view clips on-line...continued ...